Okay, so, I didn't dream up any answers...but I did feel inspired enough to cobble together all the snippets I'd written before into a proper prologue/origin story. ^^ If you'd like to read it, here it is, but if you don't (it's not really necessary) just skip to the end:
Beneath what is now called Flare, a dragon called Ebod slept for thousands of years. He became entrenched in the land, and his power leaked through to its surface, covering it in curses.
Hundreds of years ago, a group of war refugees fled to the cursed land in desperation. In their darkest hour, a group of five dragons descended to earth to aid them: Estenyir, Gonnlig, Tygtierin, Anirnleg, and Taibinmo.
In return for their faith and loyalty, the dragons showered them with blessings. They gave them a sacred treasure that would dispel Ebodās Curse, powered by the life of a worthy ruler: this treasure came to be known as the Emblem of Sol, in keeping with the naming convention of rulers from their homeland. This emblem was built into a throne, and the first to be seated on it was the brave king Fulga Sol. The kingdom of Flare rose up and flourished under his rule.
But after some time, the cursed creatures began to return. They attacked by night, in the forests and mountain passes. The people were afraid that the dragons had forsaken themā¦until, one day, a wise seer entered the royal castle, went up to the throne, and removed one of the Emblemās five points.
From that piece of the Emblem, a strange and wonderful dragon-esque being was born. He was to be called Estenyir, after the first of the Benevolent Five dragons. He proclaimed that he and his four cohorts would protect the land of Flare from all harm as long as they lived, and would train up Sols to replace them after they were gone.
And so the five Orders of knights were established, as well as the Armory Guard to oversee them all. The five points of the Emblem, called dragonsā teeth, were passed down to the worthiest knights of the Orders once the Dragon-esque passed on. And for centuries, generations of these gallant youths wielded dragon-magic in defense of the kingdom as the sacred Elite Knights.
Then, one day, during the rule of Radius Sol, Ebod stirred.
Thousands upon thousands of cursed creatures descended upon the kingdom in broad daylight. The armed forces of Flare were overwhelmed, even the Elite Knights perished one by one. The royal family was slain, and the people were terrified.
It looked like the beginning of the end, until a lone woman of shining light appeared in the castle ruins. She was Igma, the wife of the kingās brother. She was also the Fairy Queen, the leader of an ancient and persecuted race of people descended from both the Sols and the cursed creatures. This fact she hid from her husband and the world for most of her life, out of fear. But when Ebodās anger flared, she alone had the power to protect the people from the raging beasts, and gladly shouldered the responsibility.
Lucent Sol took the throne in his brotherās place, although the Emblem did not resonate with him. Queen Igma became a celebrity to the survivors of the invasion. She proclaimed that the Sols were being punished for their treatment of the people they called āfairiesā, who were essentially descended from dragonsā in this case, Ebod. She warned them that Ebodās curse would slowly return to its full effect, and that one day the sky would be darkened and the crops would refuse to grow. But until that day, or until the true successor to the Emblem was found, she would do her utmost to protect them.
That was ten years ago. To this day, no successor has been found, despite the best efforts of the crumbling Armory Guard. The five Orders have been consolidated into a single Royal Order, and the sacred Dragonsā Teeth have mysteriously disappeared. Lucent Sol is long dead. The people of Flare continue to live under the care of Queen Igma, although the land becomes darker and more barren every year. Random attacks from the cursed creatures have become more frequent, and even with the help of fairy magic, most expect that, within another decade, the kingdom will be no more.
Yeah, so, TL;DR, I'm ready to start over again completely with the present-day story. No more self-limitations, I just want to write whatever feels natural coming from ^that backstory. I think there's enough momentum in it to launch a plot that won't bore me to death even if I have to "wait". I'll probably be coming up with lots of new ideas as the day goes on, but I'm still open to suggestions.
...By the way, it may interest you to know that that prologue is full of lies, told by the people in power at various points in Flare's history. XD I guess it's more accurate to say that it's based on lies: most of the events actually happened, but the reasoning behind them is flawed.
Anyway, although it's not totally factual, that's the way most of the people in the story understand it, so I figure it's good enough for y'all. ^^